NEW DELHI: In the sexual harassment case against the outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief by women grapplers, a city court has observed that the Delhi Police, at no stage, said the accused — BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and suspended WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar — were abusing their positions or making attempts to tamper with evidence, and that cops have “not even opposed bail”.
The charges against the accused pertain to various incidents of sexual harassment, spread across 10 years in and outside the country. In the nine-page order, while granting regular bail to both Singh and Tomar, additional chief metropolitan magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal said, “The seriousness of the allegations, no doubt, is one of the relevant considerations for bail applications, but it is not the only test or the factor…”
Citing Supreme Court observations, the judge said: “When the under-trial prisoners are detained in jail to an indefinite period, Article 21 of the Constitution is violated… in my considered opinion, at this stage, no purpose will be served by taking the accused persons in custody, at this stage.” It said, “The law of the land is equal; it can neither be pulled in favour of victims nor can it tilt in favour of the accused…”
It said if the accused has not been arrested during the investigation and he appears before the court upon summons, these circumstances are sufficient for the accused to be released on bail.